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Faithful Followers

Saturday, June 12, 2010

I need you guys to get ready! We're going to go somewhere really fun today!" I announced.

"Where are we going? How are we going to get there?" came the pleas from the kids.

I answered them. "I'm not going to tell you. It's a surprise. You guys just need to prepare yourselves."

"What do we need to do? What should we wear? What should we bring with us?" I could sense the excitement. They wanted very much to go to this fun surprise, but they weren't sure what they needed to do.

"Don't worry about anything. You don't need to bring anything. Just get dressed in comfortable clothes, brush your teeth, comb your hair, and please don't fight or bug each other while getting ready," I assured them.

"But where are we going? We want to know," they whined.

"It's an awesome place! I guarantee you'll love it! You'll have the best time and you'll see some friends there as well. Trust me. Now get ready!"

So, the kids went off to get dressed, but moments later the fighting started.

"He hit me."

"She took my game."

"But I don't have a game like that and I want it!"

"But it's not yours!"

"But you don't share!"

"She called me a smelly warthog."

"He's lying!"

SIGH

"Children, that's not how you prepare to go. Don't try to kill each other. Don't steal your brother's game. Don't worry about what your brother has that you don't. And don't call each other warthogs, or any other names. If you can't follow these directions, you won't be going," I informed them.

"But what if we don't even like where we're going? Why won't you tell us more? When are we leaving?" they whined.

"Why don't you trust me? Haven't I always taken care of you? Have I ever hurt you? Have I ever told you to do anything that would be bad for you? Why can't you just do what you're instructed to do? Why the constant questions? Why do you continuously search for a reason to believe me? Why don't you simply have faith?"

Sometimes it's so frustrating to be a parent. You know what's best for your kids. You try to provide for their needs. You try to instruct them on how they need to behave. But you can't make them do what you want. They have to choose how they behave. Being a parent makes me feel close to God.

I love this post! It sounds very similar to my day...shoot most of my days when you refer to the constant sibling bickering. You right about kids choosing how they behave though. Seems like no matter what I do or how I try to teach them, they like to do the complete opposite of what I said. Go figure. LOL

I can't tell you how many times God has spoken to me through the words I've said to my children: "Have I ever let you down?" (ouch) "Haven't I always met your needs?" (ooh) "Aren't you thankful for the things you DO have?" (yikes)

Beautiful! I think I needed that little (or BIG) reminder that I just need to trust God and do what I am supposed to do. It is my nature to question but I know I need to trust that God will provide if I do what I am supposed to do. Thank you, Dawn! :)

Can't wait to hear where you took them or if you just gave up. We had our 3 grandkids and decided to take them to a neat park we found. Well, my husband said he had a surprise for them and we were going somewhere on Saturday. For 2 days they drove us nuts asking where it was and what it was called and why he was sure they would like it. Even the day we told them it was time to go they drove us nuts for the whole 15minute drive. After that my husband said he will never tell them ahead of time again. LOL

Well, where did you go? How did you get there? Did the kids have fun? Were they suprised? Did they behave themselves? How many more times did they ask you where you were going? Did I ask enough questions???? LOL!!